Leg extension - how high should my saddle be??

rodgers73
rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
edited October 2010 in Road beginners
I'm pretty sure my saddle isnt high enough. I'm getting mild knee ache after a ride of 20 miles or so and my leg doesnt fully extend at the bottom of the stroke.

Can anyone tell me if these two are linked and if so how should my leg extend when my saddle is correctly set up? What sort of degree of knee bend should I have?

Thanks

Tom

Comments

  • Butterd2
    Butterd2 Posts: 937
    The rule of thumb I start with is that when you sit on the saddle with your heel on the pedal your leg should be straight.
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  • one_bad_mofo
    one_bad_mofo Posts: 86
    The rule of thumb I start with is that when you sit on the saddle with your heel on the pedal your leg should be straight.

    I've always worked on a similar rule. But that when you straighten your leg your butt should just start to lift off the saddle. Not actually off but just lift a bit.

    This is of course with the pedal at the bottom of the stroke!
  • graeme_s-2
    graeme_s-2 Posts: 3,382
    I'd use the above suggestions as a good rule of thumb, but then take Sheldon Brown's advice and keep raising the saddle a couple of mm each time you ride. You should find it feels "better" every time you raise the saddle until it's too high and then you can just drop it down slightly.
  • Butterd2
    Butterd2 Posts: 937
    one_bad_mofo wrote:
    The rule of thumb I start with is that when you sit on the saddle with your heel on the pedal your leg should be straight.

    I've always worked on a similar rule. But that when you straighten your leg your butt should just start to lift off the saddle. Not actually off but just lift a bit.

    This is of course with the pedal at the bottom of the stroke!

    Yeah, good point !!
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  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Sore knees - front or side-to-side are often indicative of saddle too low or incorrect foot / pedal cleat position.

    Saddle too high is typically indicated by behind knee pain due to hyper-extension, poor power output and is often noticeable by rocking hips. Lumbar pain is further symptom.

    Heel on extended pedal is a good starter - knee shouldn't quite be locked. With ball of foot on pedal, knee angle should be about 170 degrees i.e. not straight - most people have saddle too high
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  • Dodger747
    Dodger747 Posts: 305
    From my experience, I'd say most people don't have their saddles anywhere near high enough. Maybe it's just in my neck of the woods, but the amount of roadies I see legs akimbo trying to spin their legs around is ridiculous...
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  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    Dodger747 wrote:
    From my experience, I'd say most people don't have their saddles anywhere near high enough. Maybe it's just in my neck of the woods, but the amount of roadies I see legs akimbo trying to spin their legs around is ridiculous...
    +1 on that.
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  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    Yes, pain is at the front of the knee so I'd guess I'm too low

    Thanks guys

    Tom
  • hmbadger
    hmbadger Posts: 181
    rodgers73 wrote:
    Yes, pain is at the front of the knee so I'd guess I'm too low

    Thanks guys

    Tom

    It's a bit more complicated than that. Last bout of front of knee pain I had was caused by ball of foot too far back on pedal (i.e. had to move foot forward on pedals).
  • vorsprung
    vorsprung Posts: 1,953
    Some pretty good advice on this thread(!)

    One thing I'd add. It is quite true that in general saddles are too low. Maybe it is because there is this idea you should have the foot flat on the floor in the saddle- this is of course wrong. Or maybe it is due to the "jump bike" or bmx saddles which are at an appropriate height for what they want to do but are not suited to road riding

    But I have had a problem with a too high saddle. The full story is that I adjusted my saddle up another few mm as Graeme_S suggested. I rode fine for 2 weeks. Then one night as I was setting out for the gym I got tremendous pain in the achilles. I didn't immediately associate it with the saddle height. Remember I'd done the change 2 weeks before and ridden longish rides in the meantime.

    I struggled to the gym and back, struggled on for a couple of days and then decided to rest the mysterious achilles problem for a few days. The pain went away, the ankle felt fine. Then I got on the bike and within a minute or so I was back to hurting again

    Someone suggested the problem might be due to saddle height, I put two and two together, dropped it a full cm. I had no more trouble and haven't ever since. So a too high saddle can cause strange side effects, be aware.
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  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    hmbadger wrote:
    rodgers73 wrote:
    Yes, pain is at the front of the knee so I'd guess I'm too low

    Thanks guys

    Tom

    It's a bit more complicated than that. Last bout of front of knee pain I had was caused by ball of foot too far back on pedal (i.e. had to move foot forward on pedals).

    if I'm turning a corner at very slow speed - eg doing a u-turn - I can easily clip the front of my shoe on the back of the front wheel. Reckon my cleats are set too far back maybe?
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    if I'm turning a corner at very slow speed - eg doing a u-turn - I can easily clip the front of my shoe on the back of the front wheel. Reckon my cleats are set too far back maybe?
    Lack of toe clearance is down to frame geometry. Correct cleat position is determined by your feet. The ball of your foot should be up to 1cm (aprox) in front of the pedal spindle.
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  • Velonutter
    Velonutter Posts: 2,437
    A sign of you saddle being too high is your hamstring pulling, drop it a few mm's and the pain went away.
  • hmbadger
    hmbadger Posts: 181
    rodgers73 wrote:
    hmbadger wrote:
    rodgers73 wrote:
    Yes, pain is at the front of the knee so I'd guess I'm too low

    Thanks guys

    Tom

    It's a bit more complicated than that. Last bout of front of knee pain I had was caused by ball of foot too far back on pedal (i.e. had to move foot forward on pedals).

    if I'm turning a corner at very slow speed - eg doing a u-turn - I can easily clip the front of my shoe on the back of the front wheel. Reckon my cleats are set too far back maybe?

    I was surprised to have this problem when I got a road bike recently (first for a long time). When I fixed the foot position then that made the toe clearance issue worse. But I can live with that much more easily than the sore knees.

    In summary, I wouldn;t say that lack of toe clearance inherently means that your foot is too far forward on the pedal.
  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    Raised saddle by about 1cm this morning. Went out and did 40 miles and knees are fine. Jobs a good 'un!

    Also speed was noticeably higher all round.

    :D

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